


Blue Ribbons and Bracelet Charms

by coruscantspark



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, beau and jester meet before canon au, general warning for beau's parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25883878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coruscantspark/pseuds/coruscantspark
Summary: The Lionettes take a Fancy Vacation so that they seem extra important and they go to the Top Destination For Empirical Elite: Nicodranas. While enjoying the fanciest of entertainment a bored young Beau spots another kid sneaking on the staircase.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31





	Blue Ribbons and Bracelet Charms

**Author's Note:**

> This is fluffy fluff, but there are bits with Beau's canonically terribly parents so just be aware. Beau and Jester meet-cute as kiddos and re-meet during the pre-stream session zero.
> 
> Nath, this is for you, dear!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr: @criticalcoruscant

An eight-year-old Beau flops down on the bed huffing out a sigh. 

_ Why do I have to dress up? Why do I have to wear a dress to dress up? Dad’s not wearing a dress. _

She glares at the stupid flouncy yellow dress hanging in the closet and idly wonders if she could get out of going if the dress disappeared. 

_ “Would the fun of not going be worth the punishment of destroying the dress?” _

“Beauregard, you have 5 minutes. Get yourself ready or I’ll do it for you.”

Wincing at remembering the last time her mother did her hair for her, Beau sticks her tongue out at the closed door and stomps to the closet with much more force than necessary. 

“Beauregard!”

Her father this time, Beau makes a face and tiptoes back to the bed and shoves the dress on. 

“ _ At least this one has pockets,” _ she thinks while carefully placing a couple of rocks into one and the bacon she’d stolen from breakfast that no one noticed in the other. Fancy places mean icky foods. She half-heartedly brushes at her hair and braids it into two long braids on each side with only a few tangles. Hopefully acceptable enough to avoid having to endure her mother’s rather painfully tight way of redoing it.

She runs down the stairs, jumping the last 2 and landing in a silent crouch just as her mother strides through the doorway taking a deep breath.

“BEAUREG-- there you are. Oh, your hair is such a mess!” she sighs and checks her timepiece, “Nevermind, there’s no time, get in the carriage, we’re running late. Put this on, your father needs you to look your best.”

Beau grabs the bracelet from her mother’s hand and sprints outside before her mother can change her mind.

___________________  
  


A ten-year-old Jester sketches happily while her mother’s voice fills the chamber with simple warm up scales while Nadine removes the curlers from her hair. Nadine moves to pull outfit options for the evening as Marion finishes putting on her makeup.

“Jester, darling, I need your help.”

Jester bounces over and lays her head on her mom’s shoulder and meets her eyes in the mirror.

“Can you help Nadine pick out my dress, Little Sapphire?”

Jester runs her fingers over the different options: velvet, silk, before choosing a flowing silver jumpsuit with a long trailing cape and helps her mother with the fastenings.

“You look so beautiful mama,” Jester sighs as she walks around to the front and hugs her tight. “Why can’t I come and watch the show?”

Marion drops a kiss to the top of her head.

“Because I need you to be safe and sound up here.” She starts putting on the jewelry as Jester hands her each piece “Besides the show will run late and you have a bedtime, remember?” She turns to level a look at Blud. “She has a bedtime, remember?”

Blud shrugs sheepishly as Jester blinks up at her mother with innocent eyes.

“Mama, I always go to bed when I’m told, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she dramatically flops onto the couch next to her sketchbook. 

Marion quirks an eyebrow. “Mmmmhmmm,” she shakes her head and smiles as Jester dissolves into giggles. “Be good, Sapphire. Be sweet, be kind, and listen to Blud. I’ll come tuck you in later, I don’t think I’ll have a client tonight.”

She blows a kiss and sweeps out the door. Music begins to play and Jester leaps to her feet. Blud sighs, closes his eyes and cracks the door open. 

“Hide and seek, yes. My favorite game,” his deep voice rumbles out in a joking tone. “Wherever will the young miss hide? Best start counting...one…two… three…”

Jester hugs him before slipping through the doorway but stops at a hand on her shoulder. Blud holds out a pair of opera glasses while continuing to keep his eyes shut and count. She whispers a quick thanks and quietly sneaks to the staircase.

___________________  
  


Beau mournfully watches other tables get desserts. She knows better than to ask though. Father was in an important discussion with some other stuffy boring adult who couldn’t even be nice enough to bring someone for her to talk to. 

_ “I should have brought a book. Mom would have taken it away though. _ ”

She looks over at her mother who is currently glaring at her. Beau scrunches her face in a question but the glare continues.

_ "What did I do now? _ ”

Schooling her features, Beau runs a full systems check. 

_ “Smile? Pasted.  _

_ Shoulders? Could be straighter.  _

_ Back? Also could be straighter.  _

_Legs? Oh._ _When did those start kicking?”_

Beau straightens up and hooks her ankles together under the chair and puts her hands in her lap. Darting her eyes back, she sees that her mother has relaxed and rejoined the conversation. Moving slowly, she reaches one hand into her pocket and grabs the rocks she’d placed there. She runs her fingers over them, trying to see them in her mind’s eye by touch. Once she’s recreated both of them in her mind, she grows bored and starts flicking the charms on the charm bracelet to the beat of the song barely audible over the din of voices filling the room. Zoning out completely, she focuses all her mental energy on singling out just the violin. Then the conversation happening just behind her, the dwarf talking about trade routes along the coast. Then the women speaking two tables over about the spike in criminal activity in Port Damali. She’s suddenly startled out of her concentration when the music picks up volume and intensity. She looks around and realizes that the lights have dimmed and listens as the voices hush and a beautiful voice starts to sing in a language she doesn’t recognize. 

_ “She’s good I suppose. She’s really pretty.” _

The red tiefling begins to descend the stairs, singing growing louder and louder, her jumpsuit sparkling in the dancing torchlight. Beau notices what she’s wearing and pouts.

_ “Oh come on, she’s not even wearing a dress and she’s the prettiest person here! Why am I wearing this stupid cupcake lemon dress…” _

Beau fumes quietly to herself as her eyes and mind wander once again and the music begins to drift over her. In the dimmed light a flash catches her eye. Squinting to the top of the staircase, she sees a pair of opera glasses? She leans forward a little and squints even harder. A wild mess of curls bounce above the glasses and a tiny set of horns peeks out from the curls.

She sits back in her chair, confused. 

_ “Who is that? Why is there another kid here and why up there instead of down here?” _

Beau looks around her table and sees that her parents are completely entranced by the performance. Moving slowly and thanking all of the gods that their table is at the back of the room, Beau slips out of her chair silently and into the shadows. Sneaking along the wall and staying out of the torchlight, she quickly makes her way over to the staircase. She sticks close to the wall as she crouches and ascends trying to avoid creaking one of the steps. 

Stopping just a couple steps below the landing where the other kid is laying on their stomach, Beau whispers, “Hi?”

The kid freezes and slowly turns to look at Beau. Purple eyes met hers and Beau immediately puts her hands up and says, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell!” 

The other kid, girl? sits up quickly and looks Beau up and down. Her curly blue hair bounces around small horns poking out on top of her head when she moves. Her blue skin blends with the shadows around them both and her purple-blue eyes sparkle with excitement and squints at Beau questioningly.

Finally she whispers, “How did you find me?”

Beau scratches the back of her neck, “Well I was listening, and then I was thinking so hard about sitting still that I got distracted from the music, and I think a candle reflected off of your-” she gestures vaguely at the girl’s glasses. “I saw it and wanted to know what it was.”

The girl nods, scoots closer to Beau and sticks out her hand.

“Hi! I’m Jester!”

“Oh, uh I’m Beau?”

Jester shakes Beau’s hand with great exuberance and says, “Can we be friends, Beau?”

“Uh--” 

“Come with me so we don’t have to whisper!”

“I--” Beau looks back down and sees that her parents haven’t noticed and looks down at where Jester still has her hand.

_ Punishment versus fun, punishment versus… yeah this one is worth it. _

“Okay,” Beau whispers and laughs quietly as she gets pulled along after surprisingly strong Jester. Jester skips down the hallway giggling and into a room. Beau stops and stares at a counting minotaur who has one eye shut and the other looking at her with curiosity before Beau gets tugged into another room. Jester drops her hand and leaps into the middle of the bed. Beau looks around with wide eyes.

“This is, uh, it’s pink,”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Jester falls backward, arms akimbo.

“Um, if you like pink?” Beau shoves her hands in her pockets and rocks back on her heels. Jester pats the bed beside her and after a moment Beau climbs up and sits cross-legged facing the other girl, skirts poofing around her. 

“So Beau, why are you at the Chateau?” 

“Well my dad wanted to impress someone so here we are. I’m not really sure why they made me come, other than to just glare at me for not being perfect.” Beau rolls her eyes. “And to make me wear this stupid dress.”

Jester sits up. “But that dress is so pretty!”

Beau grimaces, “It’s yellow. And a dress. The singing lady out there wasn’t even wearing a dress, why do I have to wear one?”

“Well, sometimes she wears dresses. But I get it, you don’t like dresses. That’s fine you don’t have to, some of the fancy ladies that come in wear pants instead and they look great!”

“See that’s what I’m saying but mom says I have to wear a dress and this stupid bracelet!” 

“Mama doesn’t make me wear things, but I like wearing dresses. Where are you from? Have you seen the ocean? What do you like?”

“Uh, I’m from the empire? We’ve spent some time at the ocean, but dad wouldn’t let me play very much so again, I don’t know what the point was. I got to stand in the water as long as I didn't splash. That was nice. It’s really sunshiney here. Do you ever get rain?”

Jester rolls over and puts her chin in her hands, kicking her feet up. 

“Sometimes. The storms come in from the ocean and it gets really loud. Mama doesn’t like those nights so we have a sleepover together,” her voice trails off and then she pokes at Beau’s skirt poof, “And what do you like?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I know you don’t like dresses, or yellow, or being bored. What do you like to do?”

“Oh. Well. I like to run. I’m the fastest one at school. I like to read, but not the boring stuff we have to read at school, they don’t teach the good stuff. I like to climb trees and collect rocks. Wanna see my rocks?”

Jester scoots closer and looks at her expectantly. Beau hesitates a moment before pulling out the pretty rocks she’d snuck home from the beach. Jester leans in, nose nearly touching them and gasps.

“Beau! They’re so pretty! That one has sparkles and that one has stripes!”

Beau grins and leans down too, “Yeah! And check this out!” She flips the sparkly rock over to show the imprint of a shell on the other side. Jester claps her hands to her face and wiggles in excitement. 

“Beau!!!!”

Beau bursts out laughing and puts them back in her pocket. 

“You should look when you go to the beach next time!”

Jester’s smile drops for a moment and she nods sadly before jumping off the bed. “What’s your favorite color Beau?”

Beau frowns for a moment thinking. “Blue. I think.”

Jester digs around for a moment before jumping back into the bed. She holds out a hand. Beau looks down and sees two blue ribbons.

“For you! I can tie them for you if you’d like.” 

Beau’s throat does that thing she does when she’s trying to not cry but that doesn’t make sense. She nods and Jester scoots close to the other girl. 

"We better go back out soon so that you don’t get in trouble.” Jester whispers as she ties the first ribbon on the end of one of Beau’s braids. “And so I don’t get in trouble for getting you in trouble. I was planning different trouble tonight, but I think this is even better.” 

Beau stares wide-eyed at Jester without saying anything as she switches to the other braid to tie the other ribbon on.

“I’ve never had another friend before besides The Traveler. But I think we could be friends. Maybe if you lived here. But you have to go away soon, but I don’t want you to forget me so I’m going to give you these ribbons and you promise to keep them and then maybe we can find each other again someday. They did that in the story I read once.” 

Jester finally makes eye contact and blushes a deep purple when Beau nods quickly. She quickly slips off the bed and grabs Beau’s hand and pulls the other girl along. 

“Come on, Mama’s show is almost done. We gotta get you back to your parents.” 

Beau stumbles along after her, out of the room and past the minotaur who is no longer counting but still staring with curiosity when she does a half wave. 

Beau stops them with a whispered, “Wait!” 

Jester looks back at her, head tilted curiously. “What?”

Beau slips the charm bracelet her mother made her wear over their clasped hands onto Jester’s wrist. 

“You don’t get to forget me either,” she says softly. When she looks up from where the bracelet now sits, the smile on Jester’s face could light up the entire building. Before she knew what was happening, she was stumbling backwards from the full force of a hug-tackle from the other girl. 

“Well now you have to promise to find me again,” Jester says when she pulls back and holds out a pinky. “The most solemn promise. Swear it!”

Beau grins again and tries to not blush before linking her pinky with Jester’s. “I promise.”

She’s tugged once more down the hallway as the two try to keep their giggles quiet. Jester shushes them both and listens for a moment.

“Okay she has one more song and then the show is over,” she looks back at Beau. “Do you think your parents noticed you were gone?”

Beau rolls her eyes, “Yeah probably. But I’ll try to say I was sick and had to run to a bathroom. I’ll be in trouble no matter what I do for ‘embarrassing your father’” she mimics her mother’s scolding voice. “I’ll be fine”

Jester squeezes her hand. “I’m very glad to have met you Beau. I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

Beau smiles and starts to tiptoe down the stairs, keeping to the shadows. Halfway down, she turns back and sees Jester looking sadly down at her before she suddenly starts waving and shooing Beau back down.

With a little wave, Beau gets to the bottom of the stairs and slips into the next room over and looks down the hallway. 

_ There is a bathroom down there, perfect. _

She takes a deep breath, straightens her shoulders and walks straight to her parents table and sits in her chair. She hears her mother shift in her chair and take a deep breath. Beau turns and sees absolute fury in her mother’s eyes staring straight at her. As the music swells, she hears her mother’s whisper, 

“I can not wait to hear your excuse this time. You’re lucky your father didn’t notice.”

Beau slumps in her chair and feels the prick of tears in her eyes and tighten her throat. The song ends and her mother’s hand clamps on her shoulder. 

“It’s time to get this one off to bed. Thereau, we’ll see you back at the house.”

Beau lets herself be pulled toward the exit, but turns to look at the top of the stairs. A small blue hand waves sadly at her as she stumbles out the door.

_ “Bye Jester…” _

_____________________________

  
Beau didn’t cry. No one could prove it. When the lecture was finally over and she was dismissed, Beau ran to the jewelry box to carefully pull up the bottom and place the two rocks inside with the other rocks she’d found on this trip. She then carefully untied one of the ribbons and placed it inside and hid the box inside her luggage. Curling up in bed, silent tears fell but she eventually fell asleep to the vision of purple eyes and a laugh that sounded like bells.

Over the years, fighting for every scrap of her identity, and sometimes just fighting to fight, Beau never ever stopped wearing that ribbon. She’d hid her other ribbon and some money at a drop spot a long time ago. When the monks came to take her away, she fought them off and ran. She got to her belongings but they grabbed her again before she could disappear. When she ran from the monastery, she carefully tucked the tattered ribbon she’d worn for more than 10 years safely away and tied the new ribbon on. She had a new destination this time: Nicodranus. She had a promise to keep.

_____________________________  
  


Jester tucked herself into bed that night, unsure of why she felt so sad. She dreamed of sad blue eyes and tried to not think about why she didn’t tell The Traveler about Beau. She did fill sketchbooks trying to keep that face in her mind. She told herself that keeping that secret was just another prank, a joke that only she knew about and could laugh about privately.

She always wore the bracelet Beau had given her. When she outgrew it, her mother helped her commission each charm and the chain into horn jewelry. Each jingle was a reminder of that girl she’d met once upon a time. When she bid a tearful goodby to her mother in the dead of the night, she set out with the foggiest destination in mind: the Empire. 

_ “Okay Traveler so here's the thing. There’s this girl and I need to find her…” _

_________________________  
  


“Fjord! Watch out!” 

Jester ducked behind a barrel as another wave of water erupts and threatens to knock her down. She hears a yelp followed by a loud thud. Peeking around the barrel she just catches the sight of Fjord knocked over and trying to scrabble back up but something wraps around his leg and yanks him towards the water. She takes a deep breath and stands up to call a Sacred Flame down but the creature is moving too fast for it to catch. She swears under her breath and reaches for her sickle and prepares to run into a close enough range to start hitting it.

_ “Traveler be with me here, cause this is all sorts of--” _

“Hey! You need help?”

Jester doesn’t even turn around just yells, “Yes, whatever you’ve got would be great!”

_ “Thank you Traveler, you’re the best!” _

Shouting she calls out to Fjord, “FJORD ARE YOU OKAY?!”

“DO I LOOK OKAY?”

Jester watches as he gets pulled high into the air and winces. “Oops…”

“What in the f--” 

The other voice trails off when jester turns to look at the help that just arrived and freezes. The woman standing there shocked, her staff at the ready, looks familiar somehow. Their eyes meet and Jester gasps. 

Those eyes...

“Beau?” Jester had never heard her own voice sound so uncertain before. The wind picks up and the hair ribbon tied around the other woman’s topknot flutters in the breeze. She speaks again, louder, “Beau? Is that you?”

The other woman stares wide-eyed for another heartbeat before nodding vigorously.

“Jester?”

“It’s me! It’s Jester! I was looking for you!” She points at the woman in blue.

"You were looking for me? I was looking for you!” Beau nearly drops her staff gesturing around with it.

Jester splutters in astonishment before responding, “Well you found me!”

She runs forward and tackles her in a hug and Beau hears the jingle of horn charms that look incredibly familiar.

“CAN I GET A LITTLE HELP OVER HERE?”

The two spin back toward the fight, turn back to each other and under their breaths whisper “whoops…” 

Beau backs off and winks and spinning her staff and preparing to sprint into the fight, “Catch up in a minute, let’s help your friend. I think you’d be surprised to see what I can do now.”

Jester laughs readying another sacred flame. “Ha! Try me! I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well, I think you’ll be the surprised one here.”

Their banter gets cut short by a splash of Fjord hitting the water. The creature hisses in anger and lashes back out at him. Beau makes a face and sprints in to join the battle.

___________________  
  


With another set of hands in the fight, the creature is quickly put down and eventually the three of them collapse tiredly against a wall. Jester’s head lolling against Beau’s shoulder snoring softly.

Fjord sitting on the opposite side of Beau lets out a tired sigh and massages his leg where the creature had pulled a muscle, looks over to Beau.

“So, you know Jessie?”

Beau laughs slightly, “Sort of, we were kids and only spent maybe 10 minutes together but…”

Fjord chuckles and shakes his head. “Yeah, she kinda has that effect on ya though. Feels like you knew her always.”

“Yeah,” Beau shakes her head. “Name’s Beau, by the way.”

“Fjord. You were pretty handy in the fight. We can ask Jessie when she wakes up but having a third pair fists around can’t hurt. You heading anywhere specific?”

Beau smiles, a warmth blooming in her chest for the first time in years and looks over at Jester resting against her shoulder. 

“Not anymore.”

Fjord leans his head back against the wall and smiles. 

“We start in the morning then.”

Beau makes an affirmative noise and holds out a fist that he tiredly taps with his own.

Jester snuggles in closer and smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Liberties were taken with whatever creature the bjreaus and roommates fought in their session zero. Lake snake is able to grapple for comedy purposes.


End file.
